Who We Are
Educate Girls works with the government, community and village-based volunteers called Team Balika to ensure every girl in the remotest parts of India is enrolled in school and learns well.
About Us
Educate Girls is a non-profit that focuses on mobilising communities for girls’ education in India’s rural and educationally backward areas.
Strongly aligned with the ‘Right to Education Act’ or the ‘Samagra Shiksha,’ Educate Girls is committed to the Government’s vision to improve access to primary education for children, especially young girls.
By leveraging the Government’s existing investment in schools and engaging with a huge base of community volunteers, Educate Girls helps identify, enrol, and retain out-of-school girls and improve foundational skills in literacy and numeracy for all children (both girls and boys). This helps deliver measurable results to a large number of children and avoids parallel service delivery.
Vision
We aim to achieve behavioural, social and economic transformation for all girls towards an India where all children have equal opportunities to access quality education.
Mission
We leverage existing community and Government resources to ensure that all girls are in school and learning well.
GOAL
Our goal is to improve access and quality of education for over 15 million children cumulatively by 2025.
Leadership
I once met an out-of-school girl and asked her “What do you want to be?” to which she replied, “Nobody has ever asked me this question so I have never thought about it.” The same girl is now enrolled in school by Educate Girls and today she aspires to be a police officer! This is the power of education.
A social impact leader, Safeena Husain is the Founder and Board Member of Educate Girls, an Indian non-profit working towards empowering communities for girls’ education in some of India’s hardest-to-reach villages. Most recently, in recognition of her ongoing work, Safeena received an honorary doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). This adds to her remarkable achievement in 2023, when she became the first Indian woman to be honoured as a WISE Prize laureate for her contributions to girls’ education in rural India.
Under Safeena’s guidance, Educate Girls has become a leading force globally, harnessing innovative financing and technology to bridge the gender gap in education. Under her leadership, Educate Girls delivered the world’s first Development Impact Bond in education, an outcomes-based financing model that achieved extraordinary results in both learning and enrolment. She led Educate Girls to become Asia’s first TED Audacious Project, a collaborative funding initiative focusing on scaling solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Safeena was conferred the NITI Aayog Women Transforming India Award and has received global accolades, including the USAID Millennium Alliance Award, MIT Solve’s Learning for Girls & Women Challenge, Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and the World Bank India Development Marketplace Award. Safeena grew up in New Delhi and is an alum of the London School of Economics.
Maharshi has 15 years of progressively responsible cross-functional experience in strategic communications, advocacy development and international development. His work experience comprises being a part of one of India’s most diversified business conglomerates, and being a part of a global communications agency, where he provided communication advisory services to Fortune 500 organizations. His last stint prior to joining Educate Girls was a Fellowship with Grameen Foundation in South-East Asia. Maharshi holds a Master of Public Policy (International Development) and a Master of Business Administration.
Senior Management Team
Anushree Singh
Head - Human Resources
Anushree has over 15+ years of experience in human resource management and people development in the corporate sector. Her knowledge ranges from people strategy, HR operations to building culture and delivering process excellence. In her past roles, she has been leading and leveraging HR teams across India in the ITES, Telecom & Construction industry.
This is her first stint in the development sector. While the purpose of the organization is close to her heart, its people and the numerous sector-based learnings & challenges of a growing organization are keeping her intrigued and excited.
Anushree holds a Master’s degree in HR & Behavioral Science from NMIMS and a Bachelor’s degree in Management Studies from Mumbai University.
Bineesh Mathai
Director – Purpose and Resource Mobilisation
Bineesh possesses over 18 years of progressive experience in conceptualising, developing, and executing fundraising strategies for national and international non-profit organisations throughout South Asia. His expertise extends to efficiently raising funds through diverse channels and navigating the complexities of corporate partnerships, trusts, foundations, and individuals. He holds extensive experience in new market entry fundraising strategy, income growth planning, team building and fundraising process development.
Prior to joining Educate Girls, he worked with organisations like CBM, Ashoka, Sightsavers etc.; in different capacities. He holds a masters degree in Social Work from Calicut University and attended the Executive General Management Programme from IIM Bangalore.
Geetika Tondon-Higgins
Director - Pragati
Geetika is a social impact professional with over 15 years of experience in Education Management, both in the for profit and not for profit sectors. Prior to transitioning into the development sector 8 years ago, she had been on the founding team of three educational institutes, and had set up the 1st degree awarding college for Film & media education in India. In the development sector, she has been part of incubators and accelerators, such as Atma & UnLtd India, advising newly formed NGOs on strategy and organisational development, and guiding them to create their pathways to impact and scale. She has a post graduate degree in Gender & Media Studies, and has always worked closely on women issues, both in professional and avocational capacity.
She joined Educate Girls two years ago to launch Project Pragati. As a project head, she works closely on the program design, strategy and expansion of the program, leading the Pragati team and NGO partners to achieve the intended outcomes for adolescent girls and young women.
Vijaylakshmi Saxena
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Vijaylakshmi Saxena, a financial services professional, has over 2 decades of work experience in Financial Management, Investing and Mergers & Acquisitions consulting. Last role was with Ambit Pragma, an India centered Private Equity Fund where as a fund manager she was responsible for investing and monitoring investments. Prior to that she worked with EY and PwC. At EY she was consulting Private Equity Funds/ Strategics for Mergers & Acquisitions; and at PwC she was engaged in conducting statutory audits. Vijaylakshmi is a Chartered Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Mumbai University.
Vikram Singh Solanki
Director - Operations
Vikram Singh Solanki has over 23 years of experience in the education sector. Embarking on his journey with Educate Girls in 2010, Vikram initially served as a Monitoring & Evaluation Analyst in the Pali district of Rajasthan. His early contributions were pivotal to the success of interventions, notably leading the world’s first Development Impact Bond in education in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. This success led to his appointment as Expansion Head in 2019, a testament to his enduring commitment to advancing girls’ education.
Transitioning seamlessly from academia to social work, Vikram’s career reflects a harmonious integration of education and community development. Holding a postgraduate degree in History from Udaipur University, Vikram has fostered strong connections with employees, volunteers, and communities at every level, showcasing his commitment to collaborative and inclusive leadership. As the Head of Field Operations, Vikram envisions a future where Educate Girls continues to be a catalyst for positive change in the lives of the most vulnerable girls through education.
Board
Ganesh Natrajan
Ganesh Natrajan
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is Executive Chairman and Founder of 5F World, a platform for Digital Start-ups, Skills and Social Ventures in the country. He is also Co-Founder of Global Talent Track, Skills Alpha and Lighthouse Communities Foundation and two Indo-US Joint Ventures – Kalzoom Advisors and the Center for AI and Advanced Analytics. He has completed two successful CEO tenures over twenty-five years at APTECH and Zensar Technologies.
Dr. Ganesh Natarajan has been Chairman of Industry association NASSCOM and NASSCOM Foundation and various National Committees of the Confederation of Indian Industry and the All India Management Association. He has also been President of the HBS Club of India and a Charter member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). Ganesh has a Masters’ in Industrial Engineering from NITIE Mumbai, PhD from IIT Bombay and Advanced Management from Harvard Business School.
Ireena Vittal
Ireena Vittal
Ireena Vittal is an independent director on the boards of some of India’s best known companies. After 24 years in the business sector, she works on issues related to India’s urban agenda and agri-markets. Earlier, she was a Partner at McKinsey & Co, an internationally renowned consulting firm.
Luis Miranda
Luis Miranda
Luis Miranda is Chairman & Co-Founder of the Indian School of Public Policy. He is also Chairman of the Centre for Civil Society and CORO and a Co-Founder of Take Charge, a mentoring programme for Catholic youth in Mumbai. He has been involved in setting up 2 highly successful companies – HDFC Bank and IDFC Private Equity. HDFC Bank is India’s most valuable bank today. Luis stepped down as CEO of IDFC Private Equity in 2010.
Luis is Chairman of Manipal Cigna Health Insurance and Senior Advisor at Morgan Stanley. He is a Trustee, University of Chicago Trust in India and a member of the Global Leaders Group and the Advisory Council of the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation at Chicago Booth.
Luis received an MBA from the Booth School of Business at The University of Chicago and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Safeena Husain
Safeena Husain
A London School of Economics graduate, Safeena has worked extensively with rural and urban underserved communities in South America, Africa and Asia. After returning to India, Safeena chose the agenda closest to her heart – that of girls’ education and founded Educate Girls. Safeena’s efforts to bridge the gender gap in education in India have been widely recognized. Under her leadership, Educate Girls has received the 2015 Skoll Foundation Award, the 2014 WISE Award, the 2014 USAID Millennium Alliance Award, the 2014 Stars Impact Award, the British Asian Trust’s Special Recognition Award from HRH Prince Charles for outstanding contribution in education and the India Development Marketplace Award in 2011 from the World Bank.
Sumit Bose
Sumit Bose
Sumit Bose has been the Union Finance Secretary and Revenue Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India (GOI), until his retirement in 2014. He was also Secretary in the Departments of Expenditure and Disinvestment, GOI. He has been Secretary in School Education, Madhya Pradesh. As a Joint Secretary in the Department of Elementary Education, he was responsible for the launch of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
He currently serves as an Independent Director on the boards of several companies, as well as various non-profits such as Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Jal Seva Charitable Foundation (WaterAid India), Parivaar Education Society (Kolkata) and Peepul (Bagli, Dewas).
Ujwal Thakar
Ujwal Thakar
Ujwal Thakar has rich and varied experience spanning the banking, financial industry and the development sector in India. He is considered a doyen of retail banking in India and also one of the leaders of the movement of professionals into the social space in India. Ujwal was the CEO of Pratham, India’s largest NGO in the elementary education space for six years and later the CEO of GiveIndia which is India’s only web based philanthropy platform.
Ujwal has been senior adviser to KPMG and PwC in their BFSI (banking, insurance, and financial services industry) practice, where he brings 28 years of banking Industry experience across nationalized, private sector and foreign banks in India. He has been the country head for the retail banking business in Standard Chartered Bank and BNP Paribas.
Ujwal recently cofounded Ujwal Impact Advisers (UIA) a virtual probono organisation along with seven other senior professionals. UIA currently mentors thirty NGOs to help them accelerate impact.
Partners
Government of Madhya Pradesh
As a part of the broader Public-Private-Partnership framework, Educate Girls works in collaboration with the Government of Madhya Pradesh. By leveraging the government’s existing investment in schools, Educate Girls delivers measurable results to a large number of beneficiaries and avoids duplication or parallel delivery of services.
Government of Rajasthan
As a part of the broader Public-Private-Partnership framework, Educate Girls works in collaboration with the Government of Rajasthan. By leveraging the government’s existing investment in schools, Educate Girls delivers measurable results to a large number of beneficiaries and avoids duplication or parallel delivery of services.
Government of Uttar Pradesh
As a part of the broader Public-Private-Partnership framework, Educate Girls works in collaboration with the Government of Uttar Pradesh. By leveraging the government’s existing investment in schools, Educate Girls delivers measurable results to a large number of beneficiaries and avoids duplication or parallel delivery of services.
10x10
10×10’s feature film, Girl Rising, is a social action campaign, created and launched by an award-winning team of former ABC News journalists in association with The Documentary Group and Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions. 10×10 uses the power of storytelling and the leverage of strategic partnerships to deliver a single message: educating girls in developing nations will change the world.
Accenture
Accenture conducted a needs assessment exercise for Educate Girls in 2013.
Adobe Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
Adobe is a multinational software company that focuses upon the creation of multimedia and creative software products, with a more recent foray towards rich Internet application software development. Adobe is supporting Educate Girls’ program intervention in Banswara district of Rajasthan.
APCO
APCO Worldwide has been guiding Educate Girls in its advocacy initiatives, training of its personnel and partnership research.
Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives
APPI is part of a group of organisations and institutions founded by Azim Premji in the social space to facilitate a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society. It provides grants (and other support where appropriate) to organisations whose work has significant potential to contribute to social change in a synergistic manner. The grant support from APPI has helped Educate Girls to prepare its ‘Strategy 2.0’ and derive a road-map for the upcoming 5 years.
Bank of America Continuum India Pvt. Ltd
BA Continuum is a non-bank subsidiary of Bank of America, part of its Global Delivery Center of Expertise. BA Continuum India Pvt. Ltd supports business process, information technology and knowledge process across Consumer Banking, including Card and Home Loans, Legacy Asset Servicing, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Wealth and Investment Management lines of business at Bank of America.
Bloom&Give
Bloom&Give works with master artisans – block-printers, weavers, tailors, tanners – who create handmade scarves and bags. They donate 50% of their profits to support girl education programs in India.
Bohemian Foundation
Bohemian Foundation was founded by philanthropist Pat Stryker in 2001. Since its inception, Bohemian Foundation has awarded grants to local, national, and global nonprofits that support various causes including supporting youth; promoting economic stability; building vibrant communities; providing opportunities and enrichment through music; promoting access to education; alleviating poverty; improving public health; and strengthening democracy. Bohemian Foundation is supporting Educate Girls program intervention in Udaipur.
Cartier Charitable Foundation
Established in Geneva in 2012 by the Maison Cartier, the Cartier Charitable Foundation shapes and implements a need-based and result-oriented philanthropic strategy, aimed at building the capacities and strengthening the resilience of the most vulnerable groups, women in particular. The founding and nurturing of successful partnerships with development and humanitarian actors lie at the center of the Cartier Charitable Foundation’s reflection and work. The Foundation currently supports 14 partners in 22 developing countries around the world, funding initiatives that promote women’s economic and social wellbeing, provide humanitarian assistance to children in the aftermath of disasters, and engage with communities to encourage a responsible management of natural resources.
COMO Foundation
Established in 2003 by the COMO Group, COMO Foundation is a philanthropic organization that supports non-profits with innovative projects that enable education, skill development and income generation for women and girls. Since 2015, COMO Foundation has supported Educate Girls in strengthening its organisational framework.
Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi is an outdoor gear manufacturing US-based company with the social mission of reducing global poverty by collaborating with high impact non-profit partners. With a focus on the three pillars of health, education and livelihoods, Cotopaxi aims at addressing the most persistent needs of those living in extreme poverty. Cotopaxi has provided capacity building support to Educate Girls since 2016.
CRiSiL Foundation
CRISIL Foundation launched in March 2013 and is a significant step forward in CRISIL’s mission to make markets function better. CRISIL Foundation provides a structured and strategic framework for achieving the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility goals. The Foundation’s two primary goals are to increase financial awareness and environment conservation. By consolidating and amplifying the efforts made, the CRISIL Foundation will now enable CRISIL to take its goals to the next level. CRISIL Foundation has been a partner of Educate Girls since its first year in 2013.
Dasra
Dasra is the leading philanthropy foundation within India. Dasra works with philanthropists and social entrepreneurs in order to make nonprofit organizations more efficient and strategic. It provides knowledge, funding and people. Dasra has been supporting Educate Girls with funding and capacity building since 2009.
Educate A Child (EAC)
Aiming to trigger significant breakthroughs and a material difference in the lives of children who have no access to primary education, Educate A Child (EAC), a global programme of the Education Above All Foundation launched in 2012, has been helping millions of out of school children (OOSC) all over the world, through partnership and innovation, overcome the access and retention barriers blocking their path to education. Playing a catalytic role in the field of OOSC and quality primary education, EAC strives to achieve individual and social outcomes for these children, their communities and a more sustainable world for us all.
Eros Foundation
The Eros Foundation, is the philanthropic arm of Eros International Media Ltd (EIML), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry. The Eros Foundation supports educations programs and works towards providing high quality learning and teaching support for targeted communities currently caught in cycles of poverty so that they can have real opportunities to change their personal futures and their communities.
Fossil Foundation
The Fossil Foundation works to create positive change in the world through partnerships with remarkable individuals and groups. As the Foundation has grown, we’ve developed close ties to the leaders of innovative social organizations who approach the world’s most pressing problems with pioneering, entrepreneurial solutions. Fossil Foundation has funded and provided organizational capacity building support to Educate Girls since 2014.
Give India
Give India is a not for profit donation platform that allows individuals to support a cause of their choice. It aims to channel and provide resources to credible non-governmental organizations across India. They envision a strong giving culture where Indians donate 2% of their income every year to give the poor a chance. Give India strives to promote efficient and effective giving in India that provides greater opportunities to the poor.
Give2Asia
Give2Asia is a US based organization founded by The Asia Foundation in 2001 which serves as a catalyst for diaspora philanthropy from the United States of America to many Asian countries. Their goal is to make international philanthropy safe, effective and impactful for corporations, foundations and individual donors.
Global Giving
Global Giving is an online marketplace where donors can find projects from around the world to support. Educate Girls has been part of Global Giving’s Online Donation Platform since 2010.
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), a leading global investment bank and active investor in India, announced that Educate Girls has been awarded a grant as a team of young analysts from the Bengaluru office secured a second place finish in the “2017 Goldman Sachs Gives Global Analyst Impact Fund” competition. The grant was utilized towards implementation and delivery of Educate Girls’ program in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
HT Parekh Foundation
Established in October 2012, HT Parekh Foundation works across a range of social interventions and development initaitves across India for the wellfare, betterment and advancement of the society. HT Parekh Foundation has partnered with Educate Girls to support intervention in Barwani District and a part of Khandwa District, Madhya Pradesh.
iPartner India
Founded in 2009 as a registered trust, iPartner India is committed towards building an ecosystem for inclusive and diverse social development in the country. iPartner India works across the key challenges of vulnerable children, education, women & livelihoods, climate change and health. iPartner India in association with Pakhar Singh Foundation is supporting a part of Educate Girls’ program in Ajmer district, Rajasthan.
Jasmine Social Investments
Jasmine Social Investments is a New Zealand registered charitable foundation established by Sam Morgan in 2006. Their goal is to have a portfolio of high impact social organisations and to help other high net worth individuals and foundations to give effectively. They fund experienced entrepreneurs developing scalable models to provide healthcare, education and improved livelihoods to the world’s most disadvantaged.
Jester Foundation
Jester Foundation, a New Zealand registered charitable trust, provides non-programmatic funding to Educate Girls that is utilized for organizational capacity. The aim of the trust is to donate to scalable, sustainable social initiatives that alleviate some of the world’s biggest problems.
LGT Venture Philanthropy
LGT VP is an impact investor that provides organizations with financial capital, management know-how and relevant networks. LGT Venture Philanthropy’s team in 5 continents strives to increase the sustainable quality of life of less advantaged people. Educate Girls has received support in funding and capacity building since 2010.
Lionbridge
Lionbridge Technologies has been partnering with Educate Girls since 2013 in developing a standalone Android-based application for tracking the movement of field level employees. The mobile application will also be used for capturing and compiling activities and output for assessing impact.
Lucille Foundation
Lucille Foundation comprises of people who believe in the ability of entrepreneurs to create high impact and sustainable solutions to complex problems. They provide unrestricted funding to organisations where the impact of their work greatly outweighs the investment. They also believe in supporting organisations that are working towards finding innovative solutions to current and pressing issues. Lucille Foundation strongly believes in Educate Girls’ mission and are supporting our work since 2018.
Marico Limited
Marico Limited is the first mainstream consumer products company that Educate Girls has partnered with. The organisation holds a number of brands including Parachute, Saffola, Hair & Care, Nihar etc. Through this partnership, we aim to leverage Marico’s positioning and reach, to promote the cause of girls’ education and pursue engagement opportunities.
Mercuri Urval
Mercuri Urval has been guiding Educate Girls since 2013 in carrying out its recruitment process by using psychometric profiling, cognitive testing and in-depth assessment interviews. It also provides leadership mentoring to Educate Girls’ senior management.
Montpelier Foundation
Montpelier Foundation supports and empowers disadvantaged people across the world through social impact investments and grant programmes. The Foundation supports organizations offering sustainable and scalable solutions for disadvantaged or low-income groups in sectors such as education, agriculture and energy. Montpelier Foundation has funded Educate Girls since 2014.
Motivation For Excellence (RG Manudhane Foundation)
Motivation for Excellence Initiative (MFE) is the commonly used name for the Mumbai-based RG Manudhane Foundation for Excellence. It was set up as a legacy to society by the late R.G. Manudhane (1921-2012), a self-made man whose life exemplified a continuous striving for values-based excellence. They have a strong belief in value-based excellence and a passion for helping catalyze improvements in society. They focus on solutions that are innovative, yet pragmatic and effective. RG Manudhane is supporting us in Jhabua District of Madhya Pradesh.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India. Currently, NPCI supports Educate Girls’ intervention in Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh. The partnership began in 2021 with an aim to bring back over 16,000 girls back to school, train 7,000+ adolescent girls in life skills, and deliver remedial learning curriculum to over 20,000 marginalized children. To date with support from NPCI, Educate Girls has been able to impact over 29,000 beneficiaries through enrolment, learning and life skills training cumulatively.
National Stock Exchange (NSE)
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is the leading stock exchange in India and the fourth largest in the world by equity trading volume according to World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). It began operations in 1994 and is ranked as the largest stock exchange in India in terms of total and average daily turnover for equity shares every year since 1995, based on annual reports of SEBI. NSE is supporting Educate Girls program Ajmer district of Rajasthan.
Oracle
Oracle is a transnational computer technology corporation and a leader in cloud computing solutions, headquartered in California, USA. The partnership has helped Educate Girls with capacity building, program delivery and technology upgradation.
PIAGET
Piaget is a Swiss luxury watchmakers and jewelers, founded in 1874 by George Piaget. The company was founded as a manufacturer of watch movements but began marketing its own line of watches in the 20th century. The Luxury Institute jewelry brand study ranked Piaget as the 6th most prestigious jewelry brand. Piaget is supporting Educate Girls program intervention in Udaipur.
Pratham
Educate Girls has partnered with Pratham to develop its activity based pedagogy – Creative Learning & Teaching (CLT) curriculum, which is deployed in classrooms for 24 weeks.
Ray & Tye Noorda Foundation
Established in 2000, Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation have been supporting passionate, impact-driven organisations that work towards providing educational access and support for all, with special emphasis on the most disadvantaged and underserved population. At its core, RTNF strives to empower people and provide equal opportunities for all. The Ray & Tye Noorda Foundation is extending its support to the Educate Girls’ program for the next five years.
Sandhan
Sandhan has helped Educate Girls in 2012 to strategize and fine-tune its Team Balika (community volunteers) approach, which forms the backbone of Educate Girls’ program model.
Sols ARC
Sol’s ARC, a non-profit, through its project Special Edge works towards resolving an education crisis that India faces today by tackling learning lags with a 360-degree view. The organisation creates innovative, equitable and scalable learning solutions for improving learning outcomes for every last child by making learning inclusive. It partners with organisations working implementing learning intervention in schools for the most vulnerable groups in India to provide inclusive learning content and training. Through its partnerships, Sol’s ARC currently impacts and improves the lives of over 2 lakh children across 4 states in India. Sol’s ARC partnered with Educate Girls and was responsible for redesigning its learning curriculum for English and Math, that was first implemented in schools under the Development Impact Bond (DIB) project. It also developed the training modules and trained master trainers to build capacity to teach the content developed.
STiR Education
Educate Girls has partnered with STIR Education (Schools and Teachers Innovating for Results) since 2014 in facilitating public school teachers’ training and ushering in innovation in classrooms.
Strategy&
Strategy& (Formerly Booz & Company) helped Educate Girls in 2013 in arriving at a long-term strategy including a 5-year growth roadmap, which would see Educate Girls expand to 15 critical gender-gap districts and impacting 4 million children.
Students Stand With Malala
The ‘Students Stand #withMalala’ movement has partnered with Educate Girls to raise awareness and generate dialogue about the importance of girls’ education by conducting multiple film screenings of ‘He Named Me Malala’. This partnership is supporting Educate Girls with its community mobilization efforts by inspiring a large number of its stakeholders that include beneficiaries, community members and Team Balika (community volunteers).
The Audacious Project
The Audacious Project is a first-of-its-kind coalition of leading organizations and individuals that surfaces and funds critical projects with the potential to create global change. Educate Girls, has been named as an Audacious project.
What if we could empower more than one million girls to enter the classrooms by 2024? To know more and support the project, visit The Audacious Project!
The British Asian Trust
The British Asian Trust brings lasting change to the lives of poor people in South Asia through access to education, health and livelihoods. Founded in 2007 by HRH The Prince of Wales, the Trust has helped more than 350,000 people overcome poverty in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Mulago Foundation
The Mulago Foundation is a private foundation designed and built to carry on the life work of Rainer Arnhold. Rainer’s passion is the prospect of a better life for children in poverty, and so the Foundation’s work is focused on health, poverty, and conservation in the world’s poorest places. The Foundation works to drive sustained impact that can grow to benefit people on a big scale.
The University of Michigan
Dr Rebecca L. Thornton from the University of Michigan conducted a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) to study the efficacy of the Educate Girls program model in Jalore.
The Womanity Foundation
The Womanity Foundation is guided by their vision to contribute to a world where all women and men have equal and full social, economic and political participation. The Womanity Foundation collaborates with organizations to empower girls and women to shape their future and accelerate progress within their communities.While aiming at generating systemic change in the beneficiaries’ communities, they also focus on innovation as well as potential for growth, sustainability and replicability.
The World Bank
The World Bank is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. In India, the World Bank works with the government and other partners to provide financing and advice for their projects in order to aid development. The World Bank has supported Educate Girls since 2011.
UBS Optimus Foundation
UBS Optimus Foundation is the philanthropic arm of UBS bank established in 1999. The Foundation works to break down barriers that prevent children from reaching their potential by funding leading organizations to improve the health, education and protection of children. Since 2015, UBS Optimus Foundation has partnered with Educate Girls and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to launch the world’s first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in the education sector. UBS Optimus Foundation also supports Educate Girls’ operations in the districts of Jhalawar in Rajasthan and Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
In India, UNICEF recognizes that the health, hygiene, nutrition, education, protection and social development of children are all connected. UNICEF’s Education Programme supports the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to improve the enrolment, retention, achievement, and completion rates in elementary education, and the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education.
Currently, UNICEF is supporting Educate Girls’ program in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Recognition
WISE Prize for Education 2023
Safeena Husain was awarded the prestigious WISE Prize for Education at the WISE 11 Summit (World Innovation Summit for Education). The WISE Prize for Education is the first global distinction of its kind that honours an individual for outstanding contribution to education. Safeena is the first Indian woman to win this honour for her contribution to girls’ education in rural India.
The Hindu BusinessLine Changemaker: Social Transformation Award 2023
Safeena Husain won the The Hindu BusinessLine Changemaker: Social Transformation Award 2023. She received this accolade for her outstanding efforts to empower communities, bridge the gender gap in education, and transform the lives of millions of girls.
HundrED 2021 Global Collection
Educate Girls’ innovation to ‘empower over a million girls to go back to school’ was selected as one of the most inspiring innovations in the HundrED 2021 Global Collection. Internationally renowned education non-profit HundrED’s annual Global Collection highlights 100 of the most impactful innovations in K12 education from around the world. Educate Girls was chosen due to its unique approach and its potential to create a sustainable impact in education
MIT Solve’s Learning for Girls & Women Challenge 2020
Educate Girls’ solution to ‘Empower 1.5 million girls to go to school’ was chosen as one of the 2020 new Solver class at MIT Solve Challenge Finals. MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, is a marketplace for social impact innovations.
Making it to the top seven in the Learning for Girls and Women category, Educate Girls was among 2020’s new Solver Class of 35 tech-based social entrepreneurs that address global challenges through their innovative social change solutions.
Global Giving 2020
Foundation to Educate Girls Globally was awarded a badge for being one of the Top-Ranked Organizations on Global Giving (an online crowdfunding website) for a successful year of fundraisers, matched donations, recurring donors and increased engagement with the online community prior to and during the Giving Season of 2019. EG was also chosen as a Staff-Picked Organization as well as Vetted Organization by Global Giving in 2019.
ET Prime Women Leadership Awards 2019
Safeena Husain won the ‘Beyond Business’ award at ET Prime Women Leadership Awards on 29 March 2019.ET Prime is a members-only business storytelling platform from the house of The Economic Times, India’s oldest and most trusted business news brand. It focuses on delivering insight-rich analysis backed by incisive research for the discerning readers. ET Prime Women Leadership Awards has been instituted under the aegis of ET Prime.
GuideStar Gold Certificate
GuideStar India is India’s largest and most reliable online information repository with 8,300 NGOs. Educate Girls have been awarded the prestigious GuideStar India Advanced level – Gold certification for 2019 and have joined India’s largest pool of credible NGOs after undergoing a rigorous due diligence process. GuideStar India’s Gold Certification is an Advanced Level certification indicating a high level of accountability and that good governance procedures have been adopted by the organization. For latest updates, financials and documents, please visit our profile on GuideStar India
NITI Aayog Women Transforming India Award 2017
Safeena Husain won the ‘Women Transforming India Award’ on 5th September 2017. This award was launched by NITI Aayog, in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov, to recognize the transformational impact of work undertaken by women across India. Out of 3000 entries received from across the country, 12 women were awarded by Union minister Smriti Irani and Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya.
L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth Award
Safeena Husain won the NDTV-L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth Award in the Education category on 28th March 2016. She was among eight other phenomenal women to be presented with the Women of Worth Awards across various categories. These awards aim to bridge not only the gender gap but also regional, sectoral, developmental, linguistic and social imbalances.
Nasscom Foundation Social Innovation Award 2015-16
On February 10th, 2016, Educate Girls was announced as one of the recipients of the Nasscom Foundation Social Innovation Award 2015-16 in the primary and secondary education category during Nasscom Foundation’s Social Innovation Forum (NSIF) – a ‘Tech for Good’ platform. The 11 projects that were awarded (chosen from 1200+ entries), were selected across various categories, including primary and secondary education, skills and employability, women’s empowerment, youth innovators, among others. Educate Girls’ ICT-led innovation in primary education is a mobile app that is used for monitoring program activities and measuring impact.
2015 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship
Educate Girls was one of the four recipients of the 2015 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Each Awardee received a $1.25 million, three-year core support investment to scale their work and increase their impact. The Skoll Foundation presents the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship each year to a select group of social entrepreneurs whose proven innovations are disrupting an unjust and unsustainable status quo and have demonstrated impact on solving some of the world’s most pressing problems.
2014 Stars Impact Award
The Stars Impact Awards recognize and reward outstanding local organizations improving the lives of children in the countries with the highest rates of under-five mortality. Since 2007, the Impact Awards have recognized local civil society organizations in 30 countries, reaching more than four million people. Educate Girls received the Stars Impact Award in December 2014. Reviewing 277 applications, Stars chose Educate Girls as the winner in the education category. This award entitles Educate Girls to USD 100,000 in unrestricted funding and USD 20,000 of consultancy support.
2014 WISE Award
Each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote six successful innovative projects that are addressing global educational challenges. Since 2009, WISE has received more than 2,400 applications from over 140 countries. They award projects from a wide variety of sectors and locations for their innovative character, their positive contribution and their potential for scalability and adaptability. These projects represent a growing resource of expertise and sound educational practice. Educate Girls received the 2014 WISE Award in November 2014. It entitles Educate Girls to USD 20,000.The jury reviewed 15 finalists with on-site evaluations and recognized Educate Girls for its innovative project addressing global educational challenges.
2014 USAID Millennium Alliance Award
The Millennium Alliance is an inclusive platform to leverage Indian creativity, expertise, and resources to identify and scale innovative solutions being developed and tested in India to address development challenges that will benefit base of the pyramid populations across India and the world. Educate Girls received the 2014 USAID Millennium Alliance Award in November 2014. This award entitles Educate Girls to USD 170,000.
Volunteer Hero Award 2014
Pushpa Sagar, an Educate Girls’ Team Balika (community-volunteer) from Jalore, Rajasthan, won the 2014 Volunteer Hero Award. iVolunteer Awards celebrate, reward and promote volunteering in India.
The British Asian Trust’s Special Recognition Award, 2013
Educate Girls received this award from HRH Prince Charles for outstanding contribution to education.
The CSR Women Leader Award, 2012
Educate Girls was felicitated with the CSR Women Leader Award 2012 by the Citi Foundation. Citi India is committed to promoting inclusive growth through economic empowerment and through Citi Foundation, the global philanthropic arm of Citigroup, they support programs that enable the poor to access the formal financial sector, improve production skills, establish sustainable enterprises and manage their finances better.
WomenChangeMakers Awards, 2012
Safeena Husain was selected as the first WomenChangeMakers’ fellow by the Womanity Foundation after a rigorous evaluation process with over 20 social entrepreneurs.
The Rotary’s Anita Parekh Award, 2012
The Anita Parikh Award was conferred to Educate Girls for its contribution towards women empowerment. The Rotary Club felicitated Educate Girls for its work in the area of girls’ education and rejuvenation of government schools.
EdelGive Social Innovation Honors, 2011
Educate Girls is a winner of the 3rd EdelGive Social Innovation Honors 2011. The award aims to identify and reward organizations that work to empower women in India. Educate Girls was selected for its significant improvements achieved in 2010.
The World Bank
The India Development Marketplace is a competitive grant program that funds development projects. The IDM award is a supported by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Educate Girls received the $50,000 grant to replicate its program in Jalore district of Rajasthan.
Asia 21 Young Leader, 2011
Safeena Husain was elected as one of the Asia 21 Young Leaders by the Asia Society, the leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding between the United States and Asia. It seeks to increase knowledge and enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of arts and culture, policy and business, and education.
Karmaveer Puraskar, 2011
Safeena Husain was felicitated by the coveted Karmaveer Puraskar award in New Delhi at an exclusive awards function, which was a part of ICONGO’s “RIGHT every WRONG Conclave”.
Village Capital Award, 2010
The Village Capital award is a Dasra initiative. The award is part of a peer funding program, where leaders of non-profit organizations and social businesses vote for other projects. Educate Girls won a grant for $7,500 for girls’ education in Rajasthan.
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